I'll Protect You, Sam
by 177624601
Summary: Danny suspects something's wrong when Sam starts applying makeup and wearing longer clothes once she starts dating her new boyfriend. Please R and R!
1. Sam's New Clothes

Disclaimer: I only own Nick.

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Danny looked over at his classmate and secret crush, Sam Manson, as Mr. Lancer asked her to remove the dark sunglasses she had been wearing. Sam's style had changed a lot since she had fallen in love with her boyfriend, Nick Brownstone. She had stayed Goth, but had hung up her tank top for sweaters and other kinds of shirts that covered her entire top half, and her hair was no longer up in a ponytail, but she had grown it long, behind her back and over her shoulders. She also wore a lot of makeup and eyeliner these days, although everyone was careful not to say anything about how much she looked like Paulina, for fear of getting a boot in the face.

Another change was in her personality. Instead of being outgoing and relatively friendly, she was now shy and reserved. Also, the fire and spark that Danny loved so much had left her violet eyes, replaced by a kind of melancholy. Now it hurt Danny to look her square in the face, knowing he'd have to look back at her pained expression. He tried to hide it, though, and it seemed to be working.

Nick Brownstone was also Goth, but he was more extreme, wearing all kinds of spikes, hair done up in a spiky Mohawk, more chains than Jacob Marley. Something about him rubbed Danny the wrong way in a way he couldn't explain. Whenever Danny told Tucker or Sam about it, Tucker said it was just jealousy, and Sam told him she should be able to date whoever she wanted and that if he wanted her so badly, he should have made an effort. He knew better than to sit back and watch, though, especially after he told Jazz, who told him about how many abuse cases often go to such lengths as Sam.

As the fifteen year old took off her glasses, revealing more black eyeliner than even Ember had; Danny noticed something on her he hadn't before today: a babushka wrapped around her head. Danny knew Sam was Jewish, but he had never ever seen her actually practice Judaism, aside from celebrating the holidays such as Yom Kippur and Hanukah; let alone wear one of those before. Sam had also never been one to accessorize. _Something's definitely up. _Danny said to himself

"Hey, Sam." Danny said him and Tuck met her outside the cafeteria. When he held up is hand to give her a high five, she returned with the strangest reaction: she flinched, hands poised in self defense. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I-I'm fine." She said as he gazed at her bloodshot eyes.

"You sure? You sound nervous."

"I'm fine, Danny!"

"Ok, ok, I'm just asking."

"There's my little 'Goth bird of unhappiness.'" Said a tall, skinny kid buried under a mountain of Naugahyde brand pleather and metal.

"Oh, h-hi, Nick."

"You don't seem very happy to see me."

"I am, I am." She said, pasting a smile on her face. Danny may have been seeing red, but his eyes were green.

"That's better. What say you and me go find a table by ourselves?"

"Ok." Sam and Nick walked off, Danny's eyes reverting back to their original Pacific blue.

If Sam was skittish before lunch, she was a wreck afterwards, when she arrived for Algebra five minutes late. Something was up. Sam, while not exactly the most punctual person on the planet, was also not the type of person to arrive so late.

"Ms. Manson, would you care to explain why you're so late?"

"I'm sorry, I got tied up." Danny noticed Sam unconsciously was rubbing her right wrist. "It'll never happen again."

"Let's hope not."

"Tuck, I've decided I'm going to tail Sam on her way home." Danny said as school got out.

"Danny, don't. We've been over this: you're just jealous."

"Tucker, Jazz has researched many abuse cases, and Sam sounds like a textbook case."

"That doesn't prove anything. Times change, and people alter their styles."

"Not in the time span of a few days! I just have to be sure she's ok."

"If you want to follow her, then fine, but don't come crying to me when you realize how wrong you are."

Not listening, Danny flew off, invisible as a black cat in the night. He flew to the Manson homestead and through Sam's window. The room was empty, save for her clothes on the bed, but he heard a strange "huh-huh-huh" sound coming from her private bathroom. Danny phased his face through the door, only to find Sam stark naked, curled up in a ball in a half-filled bathtub, back as close to the wall as possible, sobbing into her knees.

He walked in, silent as a church mouse, and knelt by her side. Slowly, so as not to startle her, he made himself visible.

"Sam?" He asked, bracing himself for a smack across the face. A croaky "Hi, Danny." was the only reaction he got, Sam's face still hidden.

"Sam, what's wrong? Look at me, Sam." She refused to show him her face. "Samantha Elizabeth Manson, look at me." He said assertively, but not angrily. As suspect as he was to what had been happening to her, Danny still wasn't prepared for what he saw next as she turned her face to him. Danny's eyes flashed green not because of her, but _he_ (Danny didn't think Nick worthy enough of a name) did to her.


	2. That's No Eyeliner

"Oh, my God, Sam." Was all Danny could say at what he saw next, tears sliding down his cheeks. Sam's eyes were both free of eyeliner, but only one was its normal color. The other one had a dark, angry bruise over it, as did the left half of her lips. Her right cheek, no longer covered in the babushka, had four circular scars in it, also surrounded by a large bruise.

"You were right, Danny. Go on, you can say it; 'I told you so.'"

"Sam, I-" Danny placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to wince in pain. He moved her hair aside, revealing yet another bruise. "Sam, please stand up." She did so, completely bare, revealing dozens of bruises. She also showed him her wrists, which had hideous red rings circling them. "Turn around." She showed him her back revealing more bruises, and some long, narrow scars, giving her back a tiger-striped appearance. "Sam," Danny said, "pack your things, we're going to the hospital. I left a note for your parents."

"Don't bother; they're off in Europe all this month with Grandma."

Danny threw away the note. Giving Sam a piggyback ride so he wouldn't hurt her, Danny flew her to the local hospital, checking her in. She explained along the way about the scars on her back, how Nick had tied her by the wrists to a coat rack and proceeded to whip her with the buckle end of his belt before releasing her, throwing her onto his bed and anally raping her. Tears started rolling down her cheeks as she was recounting the events, the mind wracking pain she was in.

"It'll be ok, Sam, the nightmare's over." He said as they landed. Taking her chin in his hands, he drew her face to his, kissing her on the right half of her lips, taking great care not to touch any sensitive areas. "I'll call the cops on him tomorrow, then you can stay at my place until your parents come home, if my parents will let you. They probably will, though."

"Thanks."

"Mr. Fenton, visiting hours are over."

"Very well. See you later, Sam." He turned and gave Sam a light hug. A few minutes later, the room grew very cold. "How's this for later?"

Sam gave a very weak grin. "Danny?"

"C'est moi. I'm gonna stay by your side all night."

"No, Danny, go home."

"I can't. I want to be sure you're safe."

Around midnight, Sam woke to the sound of footsteps in the room.

"There you are, you little skank."

"Nick." Sam said, her voice stiff with fear.

"It's me, baby. You don't look very happy to see me."

"I-I am. I'm very happy to see you." She said as she plastered another fake smile across her face, revealing two missing teeth.

"You're lying. You know what happens to liars, dontcha? Liars get punished." He said, Sam cowering in fear as he raised a fist, spikes on his gloved knuckles. He was about to strike her when, all of a sudden, he felt himself being pulled backwards by some invisible force.

"Sam, grab my cell!" Danny said, Nick in a full nelson, as Sam grabbed Danny's cell phone and dialed the Amity Park Police Department. Nick Brownstone was arrested that night for two counts of breaking and entering, having broken into Sam's room, where he found the note Danny had intended for Thurston and Lydia Manson, one count disturbance of the peace, and one count physical abuse. Danny contacted Sam's parents, letting them know that Nick had been arrested.

Even though she was grounded for a month for seeing Nick, Sam forgave Danny for contacting them, knowing that he only had her best interests at heart. She only had to stay one night at the hospital. As soon as she was released, Danny let her borrow his room until her parents came home. Sam's parents took care to give her the best recovery money can buy, including a year and a half of therapy, which Sam completed successfully.

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I know, not the best ending, but I just kind of wrote this on the fly. I hope you enjoyed it. Please R & R!


	3. Epilogue

A couple years later and, unbeknownst to Sam or Danny, Nick was let out. He had convinced the warden to let him out six months early on good behavior. According to the warden, Nick was a model inmate. Nick, however, only wanted out for one reason: vengeance. Sam was his, no matter what she, that stupid ghost boy, or anyone else said.

One night, while her parents were on a business trip, Sam walked in the door after going to the movies with Danny. She hadn't been in her room two minutes when she heard the doorbell ring. _Crap, I left my mace in my room!_ She thought, her face not betraying her surprise as she opened the door revealing Nick.

"Scream and you're dead." He said as he held her mouth closed with one hand, the other holding a knife to her throat. He pried her mouth open as he asked her "Ain't ya gonna give me a kiss?" She tasted something as he forced his tongue into her mouth. Beer.

"Nick, you're drunk." She said as she wriggled free. "We are not together anymore. You're an abusive bast-" She was cut off by a powerful backhanded smack to the cheek, which knocked her off her feet, sending her into an end table which broke as she stumbled and fell, the spikes on the backs of his gloved fingers leaving four scars side by side.

"You're mine, you stupid little cu-" Nick replied, cut off as he felt his jaw shatter. Lightheaded, he realized that not only was he being pulled to his feet by his collar, but also through the roof of the Manson household. He must have been a couple hundred feet in the air by the time he stopped.

"What the hell's going on?"

"DON'T YOU _EVER_ GO NEAR SAM AGAIN, DO YOU HEAR ME?" Danny asked, his face contorted in fury as he appeared inches from Nick's face

"Hey, let me go."

"As you wish." He let go of Nick before swooping down and catching him by the collar again.

"Hey, man, we're cool, right?"

"No, _man_, we're not _cool_, _MAN_. If I so much as _smell_ you near Sam again, you're dead. Hear me, bud?" The two of them flew back down until Danny was about ten feet in the air, at which point he threw Nick onto the sidewalk. Danny phased trough the door as Nick took off down the street, never to be seen from again.

"Sam?" Danny asked, not finding her by the broken end table. He found her in the far corner of the kitchen floor, sitting on the floor, arms around her knees, head down, sobbing hysterically. She jumped as Danny touched her unharmed cheek.

"Sam, it's ok, it's ok, it's just me. Everything'll be fine, I just need to get a look at you." He lifted her too her feet. "Well, it seems that you don't have a scratch on you, except for the scars on your cheek, which we can take care of right away." He said as he applied some bandages. "Sam, since I don't want you to be alone tonight, I was wondering if you'd like to sleep at my place?"

"I-I-I'd like that."

Danny embraced her as he went intangible and flew back home. "Just let it out, Sam." He said, stroking her back as she wept into his shoulder. He transformed back into Danny Fenton as he knocked on his door, which was answered by his mother, Maddie.

"Sam, is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine, mom." Danny replied for her as he held the girl bridal style. "Nick Brownstone came back and smacked Sam around, or at least that's what Danny Phantom told me as I watched Nick running away. I was wondering if Sam could sleep in my room tonight?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, mom."

"Yeah, thanks, Mrs. Fenton."

"Any time, sweetie."

Danny laid Sam down in his bed as he laid out a sleeping bag on the floor.

"Goodnight, Sam."

"Goodnight, Danny. I can't thank you guys enough."

"You don't have to, Sam, you're my best friend. I care for you. I love you." Said Danny as he sat on the edge of the bed, stroking her hair.

"I love you, too."

(A/N: The sequel, "Save Me, Danny," is now up.)


End file.
